After taking last Monday off due to a horrendously bad performance the week prior, Mongo re-joined the peleton this week for the Smyrna Bicycles-Alp d'Huez-Mont Ventoux-Vinings Loop-Hammerfest.
I have to say, it was one the most eclectic groups of the season so far. Boonen was there on his tri-cross bike wearing the ugliest shorts ever. Triathlon James was there on his road bike wearing his usual uncomfortably short tri-bib. Young Jimmy was there in his full Blue team kit.(Jimmy rides a Giant) And then there was Gary...
Gary wears normal shorts...but that's where normal ends. Gary rides a carbon fiber Kestrel set up in full TT mode...but with a custom configured drivetrain. It has a single 53T ring up front with a 5 speed, 13-23 cluster in the back. I was sure that there was no way in hell that he was going to be able to haul himself up and over some of the climbs on the loop. I was wrong.
On the steepest hills, everyone is maxed out on their gearing. Either 39/25, 34/25, or 30/23. Gary was riding with a gearing of 53/23. Without going into a Sheldon Brown essay on gear ratios or gear inches, lets break this down a different, simpler way.
If you divide the front chainring number by the cog number you'll get a third number that tells you how many times the rear wheel rotates with every turn of the cranks. Theoretically, the bigger the number the harder it is to pedal. 39/25=1.56...34/25=1.36...30/23=1.30...And finally for Gary...53/23=2.3 Wow! The incremental difference is staggering.
I always knew he was a beast on the flats, but to be able to climb with that setup is amazing.
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